WhenToBird

Perisoreus canadensis · Corvidae

When Do Canada Jays Arrive in Alaska?

Adult Canada Jay
Photo: Teagan Weiss, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Canada Jays are in Alaska all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from the second week of June, peak in late August (7.5% of checklists), and fall back by early November. In the quietest week (late April) they are still on about 2.1% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildJun 8-14the second week of June
PeakAug 22-31late August
Fall back byNov 1-7early November
FewestApr 22-30late April

Best: late August. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of June and fall back by early November. Peak: on about 7.5% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 4.3% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.9% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 5.6% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.7% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.5% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.7% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 6.0% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 5.4% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 5.6% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.8% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.6% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.6% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.6% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.1% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.0% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.9% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.3% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.9% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.1% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.8% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.3% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.7% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.1% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.8% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.6% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.7% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 6.0% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.2% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.6% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.3% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 7.7% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.8% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.9% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.4% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.2% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.5% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.3% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 6.1% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.9% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.3% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.5% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.8% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.4% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.8% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.8% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 4.0% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 4.0% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.2% of 3442 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Alaska that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Southeast Fairbanks Census AreaBest early November · 20 checklists that week, 3,009 in all85%
  2. Denali BoroughBest early March · 14 checklists that week, 6,287 in all82%
  3. Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaBest early November · 10 checklists that week, 2,835 in all70%
  4. Copper River Census AreaBest the second week of March · 21 checklists that week, 3,467 in all49%
  5. Dillingham Census AreaBest early September · 11 checklists that week, 1,426 in all43%
  6. Fairbanks North Star BoroughBest late September · 411 checklists that week, 23,771 in all34%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Horseshoe LakeDenali Borough, best late August · 20 checklists that week, 475 in all78%
  2. Horseshoe Lake (Denali Park)Denali Borough, best mid July · 21 checklists that week, 275 in all60%
  3. Chugach State Park (Blueberry Knoll)Anchorage Municipality, best late June · 28 checklists that week, 189 in all41%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Canada Jay is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (7.2% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 7.2% of 9751 checklists7 am: 7.2% of 17236 checklists8 am: 6.4% of 24936 checklists9 am: 5.4% of 30139 checklists10 am: 5.4% of 30866 checklists11 am: 4.9% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 4.5% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 4.6% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 4.8% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 4.0% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 4.0% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 3.3% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 3.3% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 3.4% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 2.9% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January4.3%4.9%5.6%4.7%
February4.5%4.7%6.0%5.4%
March5.6%5.8%4.6%3.6%
April2.6%3.1%2.0%1.9%
May2.3%3.9%4.1%3.8%
June4.3%5.7%6.1%5.8%
July5.6%5.7%6.0%6.2%
August5.6%6.3%7.7%7.8%
September6.9%6.4%6.2%6.5%
October7.3%6.1%5.9%5.3%
November4.5%4.8%4.4%4.8%
December3.8%4.0%4.0%4.2%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives early June, 1 week earlier than Alaska
  • Oregon: arrives late April, 6 weeks earlier than Alaska
  • Idaho: arrives early June, 1 week earlier than Alaska
  • Montana: arrives late May, 2 weeks earlier than Alaska

Common questions

When do Canada Jays arrive in Alaska?
Canada Jays are in Alaska all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from the second week of June, peak in late August (7.5% of checklists), and fall back by early November. In the quietest week (late April) they are still on about 2.1% of checklists.
When do Canada Jays leave Alaska?
Canada Jays never fully leave Alaska: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early November, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.1% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Canada Jay in Alaska?
The Canada Jay is reported most often in late August, on about 7.5% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Canada Jays seen most often?
By county, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Denali Borough, and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area have the highest peak reporting rates for the Canada Jay (counties with at least 200 checklists).